Elena-Anastasia Nicholenskya
Elena-Anastasia Nicholenskya is a Seelie Sidhe of House Fiona, presumably a Wilder, and ruler of the Duchy of Chesapeake. Overview Ellena Nicholson was born on a boat out in the Chesapeake Bay, premature by two months. Rushed to the hospital, she spent a month in the neonatal intensive care unit. The doctors and nurses fell in love with the good-natured, smiling infant with the china-blue eyes and strawberry-blonde fluff of hair. So did her mother and father. A happy, popular, child, Ellena loved dressing up and attending parties. She spent hours arranging her dolls just so for the elaborate tea parties she and her friends held. In school, she always received the most valentines, and every weekend on of her friends wanted her to sleep over. Amazed by their little girl's outgoing charm and popularity, her parents allowed her to attend most of them. Undergoing her Chrysalis and discovering she was a changeling hardly slowed her down. Though she knew her faerie name was Ellarensi, she had recently been studying Russia and had fallen in love with the idea of being Russian. Rather than take her faerie name, Ell declared that her new name would be Elena-Anastasia Nicholenskya. Baltimore's Kithain welcomed the bouncy, vibrant new changeling into their midst, regardless of her name. Singled out by a fellow Fiona, Duke Lladanyn, Elena-Anastasia was declared the heir to the Duchy of Chesapeake. In keeping with those whom she would one day rule, Elena took up horseback riding and learned about race horses and steeple chasers. When she was shown the duke's private stables, a dappled grey chose her, bonding to her and refusing to move for anyone else. Noting that his servants lacked certain talents (and wanting to thank him for his kindness to her), Elena offered to take care of arranging parties and entertainments for the duke. Relieved, Lladanyn agreed. Her parties became the talk of the town. Elena's greatest success lay in planning cotillions for the Saining of new Kithain and in new party she instituted known as the Preakness Ball, held after the famous race. Over time, the duke put more and more revels in her hands. Then he asked her to assume other duties... to attend court and make judgments in his place, to represent him at functions held in other duchies, and to draw up plans to hold a ducal lottery and to crown a new ruler. Upset that he was stepping down, yet received she wasn't being thrust in as duchess, she willingly set to work planning a lavish revelry that would include riding to the hunt, a tournament, a grand ball, and a feast with several entertainers. It was a glorious success. After the feast, Duke Lladanyn called for the lottery. Elena entertained those Kithain not entitled a vote. In the midst of their game, the other changelings of Chesapeake swept in and swept her away to be crowned their new duchess. Joyful, yet a little scared, she allowed herself to be feted and crowned. Sometime during the ceremony and party that followed, Lladanyn disappeared, leaving her the ducal treasures and a card wishing her the best. In the six years since that time, Elena-Anastasia has risen to the occasion. she is acknowledged a canny and generous ruler. She has appointed a number of Kithain to act as a council for her and listens carefully to all arguments before making a decision. Still, she is best known for the clever entertainments she hosts, like the time she treated the whole court to a Baltimore Orioles home game or took them all on a crab-catching expedition. She is one of the most popular rulers in the Kingdom of Willows, both within her own duchy and with Kithain from other fiefs. She has recently taken in a childling waif as a ward. She's about to find out if she has what it takes to entertain a child as well as she amuses adults. Elena-Anastasia knows everybody and most of them like her. As a member of the Cat's Cradle, she had even more resources to call upon. While many people dismiss her as little more than a party maven, they overlook the many friends her hospitality brings her, and the opportunities she creates for Kithain to meet one another in nonthreatening environments. While she has a good bit of Sovereign, she has rarely had to use it until she took in her ward. Jasper certainly knows how to tax her patience. Her knowledge of Legerdemain has helped out sometimes to return items "boosted" by less reputable guests at parties, and her Wayfare abilities allow her to know where she needs to be at all times during social occasions. She is generously endowed with etiquette and charisma and is an accomplished hostess. Her sense of timing and saying the right thing to the right person are legendary. She rides well, dances well, and has a good sense of what will be enjoyable and what will be boring. She is terrible with weapons, having never had the need to learn. Image A bubbly strawberry-blonde with crinkly blue eyes and a welcoming smile, Elena is the tiniest bit overweight from indulging in too much good party fare. The Fiona colors suit her, and she often wears court garb even when not officially presiding over court functions. Her laugh is infectious. Personal Elena knows she isn't the smartest or the strongest among the Kithain of Chesapeake, but she tries to be pleasant and welcoming to everyone. As duchess, she has gathered together a group of advisors so she can profit from their wisdom in decision making. she's always believed that the happier people are, the better they get along, so she's made it her business to make people happy. Some folks might argue that being a good hostess is not enough to build a duchy on; she's proof that they are wrong. The Kithain of Chesapeake obviously appreciate the social interactions she arranges for their benefit, and have rewarded her with their love and trust. She's honored to be so popular. Treasures Unknown to Elena, along with the ducal treasures, her old mentor left her a major faerie treasure. The card he left wishing her luck (which she has kept as a memento, but never looked at while Kenning it) really is a lucky charm. It holds within it one use of Soothsay 2: Fair is Foul and Foul is Fair, that acts as if it has five successes. Whenever Elena needs its power to guard her life from what would otherwise be a killing blow, the card will function to protect her from it. Once used, the card will become blank. References # CTD. Kingdom of Willows, pp. 134-136. Category:Seelie (CTD) Category:Sidhe (CTD) Category:Fae of Unknown Seeming Category:House Fiona (CTD)